Chocolate - Friend or Foe?

It's December!! And with the beginning of December comes the beginning of the Christmas season. This brings holiday parties, decorations, and most of all, holiday goodies. One of the most popular flavors for holiday treats is CHOCOLATE. While we may know that eating 6 chocolate chip cookies or the leftover chocolate cake from the party is not in our best health interests, many people are not aware that chocolate does have qualities that can make it healthy, when eaten in moderation.

Dr. Jacob Schor is a naturopathic physician and has some good news for those of us who are looking for any excuse to eat some chocolate during the holidays. Chocolate, when not coupled with peanuts, cookies, or in other processed states, contains more flavanols than any other food. Flavanols are phytonutrients that are also found in fruits and vegetables. In general, chocolate is processed quite a bit before reaching our mouths. However, recent production has focused on preserving these nutrients. Dr. Schor explains a few health benefits that have been associated with eating chocolate containing flavanols.

Chocolate May Lower Blood Pressure

Studies focused on the Kuna tribe that is indigenous to Panama. The people in this tribe were identified as having no history of hypertension in anyone, regardless of age. However, as the tribe began moving to the cities, the rate of hypertension increased dramatically. The key factor was the flavanol-containing cocoa that the Kuna people relied on when living among their tribe. As the people began living in the urban areas, their diet changed and did not include the pure cocoa. Through more focused studies, researchers have discovered that minimally processed chocolate, or chocolate that had the flavanol content preserved during processing, does lower blood pressure. Enzymes are activated by the flavanols that increase the nitric oxide in the blood which improves the functioning of the blood vessels by acting as a vasodilator. These results were observed with 6 grams of chocolate per day.

Chocolate May Lower Cholesterol

In addition to lowering blood pressure, chocolate has also provided a positive impact on cholesterol levels. When patients ate chocolate containing 700 mg of flavanols per day, their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol levels dropped by 6% and the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, “good” cholesterol,” rose by 9%. There was also a decrease in the number of blood markers that indicate vascular inflammation.

Chocolate May Provide Sun Protection

A unique benefit of the flavanols in chocolate is the potential for sun protection. Volunteers either ate flavanol-rich or low-flavanol chocolate over a period of 3 months. The amount of sun exposure that was required to induce a sunburn was measured both at the beginning and end of the 3 months. At the end of the study, those who ate the flavanol-rich chocolate were able to tolerate more than twice the amount of sun exposure before burning.

Any one of these health benefits is enough to send a chocolate lover to the store in the name of health. However, most chocolate found in stores is processed, meaning the flavanols have been mostly destroyed during heating. In addition, too much of any good thing can still be detrimental. To ensure that the excuse to eat chocolate is truly valid, search out chocolate with minimal or low-temperature processing and enjoy the treats this holiday season in moderation!